A little bit more than patriotism. A little bit lower than jingoism. ---
Nirendra Dev

Thursday, May 15, 2014

What does the Mandate 2014 mean?

This blog is being written on the caveat that the election results would be in tune with the Exit polls findings.

On a macro level, firstly What does the mandate
mean to
politics of Aam Admi Party? On a positive note, AAP could break the entry barriers for
politics telling the middle class that hating politics is no solution to the problems.

Arrogance and absence of agenda for AAP have their major
lapses.

Moral lesson:

Don’t dream a moon, u r Arvind Kejriwal – not a
JP or even Anna Hazare!

What does the mandate mean to politics of BJP (new phenomenon
on Modi-centric Rajnath-Modi jugalbandi)

BJP is already into 'Modi-fied' structure as Rajnath and other BJP leaders had to air-dash to conclave with 'PM-designate' Narendra Modi.

For Congress – the big message will be a rejection for dynasty…

But one can say, for Congress, which suffered defeats in December
2013 assembly polls ….. to hope for a revival under Rahul Gandhi was going to
be like pinning jelly to a wall.

Should not and will not Congress regret statements from leaders like Digvijay Singh, who did not hesitate to insult Muslims (not to speak of Indians in general) by addressing Osama bin Laden as 'Osamaji'. Someone also addressed fugitive don as 'Mister Dawood'.

The mandate 2014 could have interesting impacts on the life and career of individuals like Arvind
Kejriwal, Mulayam-Akhilesh, Mayawati (is she a new Paswan in making), Anna Hazare, M M Joshi etc etc

Now, on the national perspective
the mandate 2014 offers a few hard lessons. India has been essentially good at
resolving the problems. In the past, it has braved through a few crises. The
debacle with China in the sixties, the emergency and suspension of fundamental
rights in 1970s, politics of opportunism, terrorism and corruption in 1980s,
the economic doldrums of 1991 and later the political instability. Each time
the country has rebounded emphatically because we Indians may not be good at
anticipating the problems but by nature are good at fixing them. Thus, in terms
of the mandate this year, India
has shown its appetite for reinvention and to rekindle itself for a march
towards greater glory.

Gujarat: Road to Godhra

The last decade has been a
decade of misgovernance. The corruption went berserk and the trend was in the
name of stopping BJP – that is SICKULARISM (distorted version of true and
genuine secularism), any body could get away with anything.

But the elections provided an opportunity to size up the polity. That we Indians are beginning to ‘correct’
our mistakes and lapses is certainly a good step forward.

For a change, the heaven would have perhaps
fallen had India
not voted the manner it did. (Exit polls findings)....The mandate was not so much decisive for a party
like BJP, but it was more for a persona called Narendra Modi. The critics had dubbed it as an
endorsement of Hitler style of his functioning. While one could debate that
allegation, it goes without saying that after a spell of policy paralysis of 10
years, the countrymen and women were looking for a strong government.

This is why my bet is on
Narendra Modi and not the old guards like L K Advani, who too has or at least
had an image of a hardliner Hindutva but when in government showed the performance was far from satisfactory!!

Hardliner Hindutva is
actually non issue. The bigger issue is that the leader must take a decision.
Narendra Modi seems to attract those Indians who feel attracted towards this
argument of a strong and prosperous India under a strong leadership.

I am aware of immense
pathological hatred an overwhelming section of our Indian brethren has towards
Modi. I am not talking about Muslims alone. The pathological hatred towards
‘Modi’ or anything that has to do with BJP is more with a self-styled and
self-appointed brigade of ‘seculars’ – whom I prefer to call SICKULARS. The
hatred clouds their minds – this section is among Hindus, Christians and others
- and eyes so much that they would not see the other side.

If Hindus and even a sizeable
number of Sikhs, Muslims and Christians have backed Modi today in various parts
of the country, there is a big reason as 12 long years of one sided attack on
an individual had only earned him sympathy and admiration.

Any kind of fundamentalism is
an infection and can spread. It is best not encouraged to raise its head.

The Indian secularism or
‘sickularism’ is actually also a form of fundamentalism, lucidly argued by my
Washington-based friend Tufail Ahmed. Indian secularism is to be perhaps abhorred
and handled effectively as it also creates division between communities.

When a semi-literate Dalit
woman near Vrindavan says, “Suna hae Modi ji Bijli layenge ( I am told Modi
will bring electricity)”, -- the real story is different. And that’s the lesson
of the mandate 2014. For everyone, the fear is not about 'Modi' alone but also about hunger and unemployment.

About Me

Author of 'Rainbows and Misty Sky: Windows to North East India';
'HEART ALONE' (A collection of short stories), 'Modi to Moditva: An Uncensored Truth' and other books, 'Ayodhya: Battle for Peace' (2011) ‘Godhra – A Journey To Mayhem’ (2004) and ‘The Talking Guns: North East India’ (2008).